Was Brendan Rodgers Really the Developer of Young Talent He Proclaimed to Be?

"You say 'steady' to me again, when I say something to you, you'll be on the first plane back"—some of Brendan Rodgers' first words as Liverpool manager, aimed at Raheem Sterling during the Reds' pre-season tour of North America and documented by Fox Sports' Being: Liverpool served to highlight his intentions.

Arriving on Merseyside on the first day of June in 2012, Rodgers was lauded as one of Europe's brightest young managers, having masterminded Swansea City's successful start to life in the Premier League from 2010, and at the fulcrum of this excellence was the Ulsterman's approach to youth development.

This is something that Rodgers reiterated during an interview with The Anfield Wrap just over three months after his appointment, succeeding Kenny Dalglish—a symbol of Liverpool's former glory—in club owner Fenway Sports Group's aim to drag the club into a bright future:

"

That’s the message that I want to get out, I’ve done all my short career as a manager, I’ve an inherent belief in young players, but not blindly, they have to have the talent and the personality.

And I think if you see the clubs that do give those young players an opportunity it’s normally the clubs where the manager has an inherent belief in them, or financially it’s forced upon them.

For me it probably works both ways really. I believe a young player will run through a barbed wire fence for you. An older player looks for a hole in the fence, he’ll try and get his way through it some way, but the young player will fight for you.

"

Rodgers continued to stress that his young players' "attitude," the very same aspect that he pulled up with Sterling in North America, was central to this, using 34-year-old vice-captain Jamie Carragher as his leading example.

But four years, a miserable Goodison Park dismissal and a majestic Celtic Park unveiling later, was Rodgers really the developer of young talent he proclaimed to be at Liverpool?

The squad that Rodgers brought with him to Toronto for his first friendly clash as Liverpool manager provided the perfect opportunity showcase his faith in youth, with senior players Luis Suarez, Craig Bellamy, Sebastian Coates and Pepe Reina left out of the Reds' touring squad.

Steven Gerrard, Martin Kelly, Glen Johnson, Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing were poised to meet up with Rodgers' squad later in the tour, leaving him with the youthful group chastised in front of the Fox Sports cameras.

Included were goalkeepers Peter Gulacsi and Danny Ward, defenders Jon Flanagan, Danny Wilson, Jack Robinson, Ryan McLaughlin, Brad Smith, Andre Wisdom and Stephen Sama and midfielders Suso, Jay Spearing, Jonjo Shelvey, Krisztian Adorjan and Conor Coady.

Sterling joined a young group of attackers alongside Nathan Ecclestone, Jordon Ibe, Dani Pacheco and Adam Morgan, with the latter taking to Twitter to express his delight at being selected for the tour:

That Morgan emphasised the importance of this "experience" could serve to represent two sides of the coin—was the young striker set to gain crucial experience ahead of a long and fruitful Anfield career, or simply enjoy the experience of a two-week jaunt across the Atlantic?

As the Liverpool Echo's Kristian Walsh assessed four years after Rodgers' arrival, 15 of these players featured in the Reds' opening friendly, but, unfortunately, as Walsh attested, this included "some wonderful, long-forgotten names."

Wisdom, Sama, Ibe, Spearing, Ecclestone and Pacheco started the first half of that 1-1 draw with FC Toronto, while Gulacsi, Flanagan, Wilson, Robinson, Adorjan, Shelvey, Suso, Sterling and Morgan came on after the interval.

Eleven of this 18-strong group featured for the senior side in 2012/13, while they were joined by a clutch of young additions including some of Rodgers' first signings at the club, strikers Fabio Borini and Samed Yesil.

But studying the long-term prospects of those to be handed their debut by Rodgers at Liverpool between that first season and his last in 2015/16 suggests this approach was little more than a stopgap:

Under-23 Players Debuted by Rodgers	Year of Debut	Age on Debut	Appearances	Starts	First-Team Signing or Academy?	Still at Club in 2015/16?
Samed Yesil	2012	18	2	2	Academy	Loaned
Andre Wisdom	2012	19	22	21	Academy	Loaned
Jordan Williams	2014	18	1	0	Academy	Loaned
Luis Alberto	2013	20	12	2	First Team	Loaned
Lazar Markovic	2014	20	34	23	First Team	Loaned
Conor Coady	2012	19	2	1	Academy	No
Adam Morgan	2012	18	3	2	Academy	No
Suso	2012	18	21	12	Academy	No
Brad Smith	2013	19	1	0	Academy	No (Rejoined)
Fabio Borini	2012	21	38	15	First Team	No
Javier Manquillo	2014	20	19	18	First Team	No
Jerome Sinclair	2012	16	3	0	Academy	Yes
Jordon Ibe	2013	17	25	15	Academy	Yes
Joao Teixeira	2014	21	1	0	Academy	Yes
Jordan Rossiter	2014	17	4	3	Academy	Yes
Philippe Coutinho	2013	20	112	97	First Team	Yes
Emre Can	2014	20	51	43	First Team	Yes
Alberto Moreno	2014	22	51	42	First Team	Yes
Divock Origi	2015	20	4	2	First Team	Yes
Joe Gomez	2015	18	7	7	First Team	Yes
Pedro Chirivella	2015	18	1	0	Academy	Yes
Cameron Brannagan	2015	19	1	0	Academy	Yes

Furthermore, as his eventual replacement Jurgen Klopp heads into his first full campaign on Merseyside, a number of conclusions can be drawn:

• Of the 18 players to make their debut before the 2015/16 season, only seven remained at the club for the latest campaign.
• From that group of seven, only four of those players made over 10 appearances for Rodgers.
• Of the 22 players debuted by Rodgers, only 10 made over 10 appearances during his tenure.
• Rodgers gave debuts to 13 of Liverpool's academy players, but only six were at the club in 2015/16.

As This is Anfield's Henry Jackson analysed with a list of likely departures, many of Rodgers' young debutants are set to leave the club this summer—Yesil, Ibe, Wisdom, Smith, Ward, Luis Alberto, Joao Carlos Teixeira and Jordan Williams should all depart on either temporary or permanent deals.

Further to this, fellow youngsters McLaughlin, Tiago Ilori, Sergi Canos, Lawrence Vigouroux and Jack Dunn are all poised to leave, while Jerome Sinclair—Liverpool's youngest-ever player—has signed a pre-contract agreement with Watford and Jordan Rossiter has already joined Rangers on a free transfer.

While this cull will come at the hands of Rodgers' successor, their experience on Merseyside will largely be singed with the Northern Irishman's unique brand of hyperbole.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Naturally, there remain exceptions to this rule, and arguably none serve to vindicate Rodgers' stressing of the importance of attitude than Sterling, who was the subject of intense enthusiasm from his former manager in interview with The Anfield Wrap:

"

I came in here early on I heard all these bits and pieces about Raheem Sterling and I watched him early on and I thought, 'ok, be interesting,' and I get into him a couple of times, 'come on my friend.'

But I’ve got to say his response has been fantastic and he’s a kid now that is responsible tactically, getting better and he has a threat on the field.

So he’s going to grow I believe and I’m trying to keep him out of the media, trying to look after him, trying to make sure he stays focussed and composed and then Liverpool has a player for the future then, and I think there’ll hopefully be a number of boys like that who can now step up given the opportunity.

"

Guarding Sterling from the media spotlight may have only been possible for a season or two, but the winger's rise was certainly far from steady, making 126 appearances under Rodgers, scoring 23 goals, laying on 25 assists and playing a central role in Liverpool's close-fought title bid in 2013/14.

Flanagan was another player to feature heavily that season, and the local-born full-back is another prime example of the virtues of the right attitude—something echoed by Smith's rise into the first-team under Klopp in 2015/16.

But Smith's exile at the beginning of the season, training with the club but not under contract as he sought a move away, highlights the depreciation of Rodgers' faith in youth.

This is something the manager expressed a concern about in February of last year, telling Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo that "maybe I have too much belief in young players"—though Suso, speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca (h/t the Mirror's Ricky Charlesworth) on his move to AC Milan a month previous, provided a different angle: "I have grown, but I have not noticed a lot of trust in me."

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

Smith only received a new contract on Klopp's arrival, and the German gave the left-back his full debut against FC Sion in the Europa League in December, while fellow youngsters Ilori, Ward, Canos, Connor Randall, Ryan Kent, Kevin Stewart, Joe Maguire and Sheyi Ojo were also awarded their first appearances.

Klopp gave eight young players their debut in just over nine months as Liverpool manager, while Rodgers debuted 22 players under the age of 23 in 40 months.

Klopp's arrival on Merseyside was shortly followed by similar words to his predecessor, with the 48-year-old telling the Guardian's Paul Wilson that "when I am managing a club I think each young player should smile, because the door is wide open for him."

Time will tell whether Klopp is able to follow through with his promise, but—few examples aside—as Rodgers proved during his three-and-a-bit seasons with the Reds, he was not quite the developer of young talent he suggested he was.

Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk and LFCHistory.net.

Follow @jacklusby_